Slovakia hits 41.4°C as Austria also sets all-time heat record

Bratislava,UPDATED: Aug 5, 2026 23:06 IST

Central Europe saw extreme temperatures again on Wednesday, with Slovakia and Austria both recording their hottest day on record. Slovakia also marked the third time this summer that temperatures there have touched a record high.

In Slovakia, temperatures in the south crossed 40°C in the latest heat wave, while Austria registered a new national record near its border with Slovakia. The Czech Republic and Hungary had also recorded their all-time highs earlier this summer.

The Slovak Meteorological Institute said a new record of 41.4°C was logged in the southern town of Kamenica nad Hronom. Earlier records this summer were set on June 29 and June 30, when temperatures reached 41.0°C in Turna nad Bodvou and 41.3°C in Kamenica nad Hronom. The latest reading went past the previous national high of 40.3°C recorded in 2007 in Hurbanovo.

Slovakia also recorded its hottest night on record from Tuesday into Wednesday, with 28.4°C measured in Skalica in the southwest. In Austria, GeoSphere said the all-time high of 41.2°C was measured in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg near the border with Slovakia, beating the 41.0°C record set a day earlier.

This year, Europe has been facing an exceptionally hot and dry summer, with fire-prone conditions triggering unprecedented blazes that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes and holiday spots. According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s. Wednesday's records in Slovakia and Austria added to the run of extreme heat seen across the region this summer.

With PTI Inputs

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